


Eventually

by ImmerSie



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, it's a sad thing, just letting ya know, mink never cries and i want to remedy that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 14:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3213221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmerSie/pseuds/ImmerSie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yes, he was an iceberg. </p><p>But icebergs can crack. They can fall apart slowly, they can unleash a sharp flow of things kept in place, they can stay broken or open for some time. Like a wound that refused to heal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eventually

Most of the time, Mink is the one to aid in Koujaku's deep rooted unsettled behavior towards his past, his tattoos and seems to be set upon kissing each mark, each flower in an effort to rewrite the pain. It helps Koujaku heal as he can see. He can pick up the little changes in his scent and aura, the shift of past love and the change of the beast he knows lies within the man. He tries his best and he tries to help Koujaku see that he is not only a monster, that the flowers upon his back have no need to fully bloom.

Any violent rage that caused Koujaku to return with the tips of navy locks hued a faint red would be quelled silently and Mink had no hesitance in kissing the tips with no spoken words, his touch ginger as he awaits the bitterness to fade. And it does eventually, that's when he feels the press of a body against him and weak arms surround him in an embrace as Koujaku comes down from his upset. Those days were rare gratefully, but treasured nonetheless.

It's no lie that Mink could be regarded as an iceberg, or perhaps a dam with shallow spiderweb cracks. A strong, unbreakable force that kept any and all weakness within. He'd never once allowed himself to grieve after he left America, never let himself sit alone and wallow in pain for even a few minutes. He had prayed, yes. And he kept his family and friends within his mind as well.

Yet, never did he sit in prison or the experimental halls or his makeshift hideout and let his heart show itself fully. He kept it sealed instead because he had a focus, a mindset, a choice to lock upon and keep to. It was evident in the cuffs and the collar that weighed on his wrists and his neck, in the scars he'd kept, the nightmares that imbued him in deep insomnia, the creases in his features, the dark circles beneath his eyes, the glint of rage that showed itself should he allow a glance toward the damned tower the cause of his current choices resided in.

Yes, he was an iceberg.

But icebergs can crack. They can fall apart slowly, they can unleash a sharp flow of things kept in place, they can stay broken or open for some time. Like a wound that refused to heal.

Mink was a proud man, he didn't let his feelings cloud him, he kept them tightly sealed within a bottle. Vengeance was his path as was eventual death, those two were things to set upon. But that path had long faded after the fall of the tower and now he spent his time with Koujaku. It didn't mean that he had allowed himself to weaken or show what he had hidden for so many years.

And yet, when he'd gotten the ability to sleep one night, a sliver of hope that went to sweet dreams or nothingness would fall apart as nightmares haunted him once more.

They shifted along the way, becoming a familiar surrounding only he knew and suddenly, he was a young adult once more, sitting at a table with the delicious aroma of food with a faint confusion upon his features. Quick footsteps had approached him and he felt a body slam into his side, small arms encircling his waist and a nuzzle tickling against him. A glance down had served to break him as he set his sights upon the smiling visage of his younger sister. Her grin was bright, rivaling the sun itself as a giggle escapes her but no words would reach his ears.

More footsteps approach, drawing forth his attention to see his father sitting at the table with an amusement glinting within his eyes and his mother with a soft, warm smile as she looked upon her children. Mink's heart ached so very painfully just looking to them now, seeing them as if nothing had happened, as if all of his expeditions in Midorijima were a dream and he was home, safe and happy. But the sight before him was fading, like a mirage that had come to leave its victim. He'd reach for his family, look to his parents and his sister in a belief that he would remain here in the past if he tried to touch them, but no luck would come and they'd slip from his grasp before the dream became darkness.

He woke up soon enough, not jolting in a panic as usual but rising in a moment of painful quietude. He'd sat there for some time, he supposed. He'd hidden his face in his hands as he tried to will away the clench of his heart and the burning behind closed eyes. He'd been startled when he felt a hand rest upon his shoulder, not at all knowledgeable of there being a shift in the bed. The hand squeezed at the plaint flesh beneath it, a means of comfort for the one it touched. It had slipped away, presumably falling upon a lap as a voice broke the silence.

"Mink.."

"What?"

"You know—"

"Red." He already knew what the other was going to say.

Koujaku went on still as he chanced a glance upon Mink. "You've been there for me so many times and you've made it a point to try and make me see past what I think of myself."

No reply from Mink, but even still Koujaku went on.

"And all this time, I'm not completely sure what happened to you. We haven't even scratched the surface of what went on in our pasts." A bitter laugh as he looked to his hands. "But you've stopped me from getting angry and you're there for me even if you're silent about it. It helps me a lot more than you'd know and yet... I've never had a chance to return the favor."

"..You don't need to."

"Then don't think of it as a favor. Think of it as me wanting to help you too. Once, you told me that I have wounds beyond my scars. I'm pretty sure you do too."

"Red—"

"I've cried in front of you, Mink.. Even broke down once. But you've never cried, you've never shown me what's under all of that." Koujaku would lean forward, head turning to the side as if to gain an ability of seeing the statuesque visage he had always seen. It was hard to view when it was enshrouded in a curtain of dark brown and deep auburn, another wall to keep away any show of emotions he didn't want to show.

"Mink. I'm sure that people have told you it's not right to hide away like that. Or am I wrong and others have told you to keep your emotions in check?"

A pause before a stilted reply. "No... My mother always told me that when someone feels upset, they shouldn't keep it bottled up. Because one day, it will break free.. and it may end up destroying them when it does."

"Your mother must have been a kind and wise person." is the soft reply from the the hairdresser.

"She was."

There was a weakness to Mink's voice then, a thinning of deep baritone that Koujaku could pick up on. It was minor but it was there and it's what led to Koujaku reaching out to grasp Mink's hand, threading their fingers together when the elder showed no signs of pushing him away. The other free hand would inch towards Mink's hair, slender digits parting the curtain if only to brush it away as a means of comfort and he swore he saw a flicker of agony and a gloss to the deep hue of gold he'd grown accustomed to seeing in privacy.

"It's okay." Koujaku said as he reached to wrap an arm around the other man's broad shoulders. "Even if for just a little, it's okay."

He felt the slightest tremor beneath his hold, the droop to the form of a man who seemed to have carried quite a heavy burden. He knew Mink wasn't the type to break apart let alone bawl or sob or scream. He wasn't that type of character. But allowing a few tears to escape would not make him much less of the man he was now. Koujaku would be there to pose a shoulder to lean on, a rock—temporary as it may have been—to hold strong in lieu of the other. 

Just as Mink had done for him so many times before. 


End file.
